办公室文化:退避三舍不能化解办公室冲突

Most organizational conflict springs not from battling egos but from legitimate differences of opinion among different groups about what the business should do. Should it invest in this or that market? Should it build a plant here or there? Should it make this product or another one?
大部分组织冲突的产生并不是为了自身利益，而是因为不同团队对于公司应采取的行动在观念上存在合理的差别。比如，公司应该投资哪个市场？应该在哪里建厂？应该生产哪种产品？

Of course, people do play organizational games. There are thugs and bullies who do seek to dominate. There are dysfunctional aspects of organizational conflict that are driven by individual personalities. More often, though, legitimate conflict -- differences of opinion about real business issues -- can seem personal because the people involved have become emotionally invested in the positions they take -- a lamentable but fully human response. That doesn't make the issues themselves personal. It just means those involved must work to separate their egos from the underlying questions.
当然，肯定会有人玩办公室政治。确实有一些“职场恶棍”希望高人一头。由团队成员个性引发的组织冲突确实会带来组织功能的紊乱。对确实存在的业务问题所持的不同观点，我们认为是合理冲突。但更多情况下，合理冲突看起来更像是个人冲突，因为各方为了坚持己见，不免变得情绪化。这种反应虽然很可悲，但也符合人性的特点。但这并不会使问题本身变成私人事务，这只是意味着，所有当事人必须将自我与根本基本问题剥离开来。

If organizational conflict is inevitable, and you cannot avoid it because it often involves important questions, you need to understand how it typically gets resolved. We'd like to think choices are made through rational analysis based on data, which will reveal to all involved the "right" or "best" answer. Unfortunately, while analysis is always useful and often illuminating, most important issues are too complex for it to produce indisputable answers.
既然组织冲突不可避免，而且因为通常会涉及重大问题而无法回避，因此经理人需要了解组织冲突典型的解决办法。我们总是认为，只有依靠数据、通过理性分析才能做出选择，才能告诉所有当事人，什么是“正确的”或者“最佳的”答案。但可惜的是，尽管分析非常有用，并且常常能带给人启发，但一些重要的问题太过复杂，根本就找不到毫无争议的答案。

Most organizational conflicts are resolved through influence. The groups with bosses that have influence will get what they need. Those groups whose bosses lack influence will not.
大多数组织冲突都是通过影响力得以解决的。老板具有影响力，他的团队便能实现目标。若老板缺乏影响力，那么他的团队便只能承受失败。

If the thought of consciously accumulating and exerting influence bothers you, imagine the consequences if you had no influence at all. You and your group would be at the mercy of what others demand of you. Yes, power can corrupt, but powerlessness corrupts too. Just think about all the people throughout history who have explained the evil they did by saying, "I had no choice. I had to do what I was told."
如果经理人对于有意识地积累和利用影响力感到困扰，不妨设想一下缺乏影响力的后果。他和他的团队只能任人摆布。权力确实会带来腐败，但无权力也会带来同样的后果。比如历史上那些作恶多端的人，他们在为自己的恶行辩护时总是会说：“我别无选择。我必须遵守指令。”

To be an effective boss, you must influence others -- people and groups over whom you have no formal control -- to get what your group needs and to work for what you believe is best and right. Your own people count on you to do this because they cannot do their work well otherwise. Your organization depends on voices like yours to keep it on the right track.
要成为高效的管理者，必须具备足够的影响力。为了实现自己团队的目标，并为自己团队的理想而努力，管理者必须有能力对其职权范围之外的人员和团队施加有效影响。团队成员都指望团队领袖具有这样的影响力，否则他们便无法有效地工作。组织也需要有影响力的管理人员发出自己的声音，来保证组织的正常运转。

The best way to build influence is to create ongoing relationships for mutual advantage. There's no reason you cannot do this while holding yourself to high standards of openness, honesty, fairness, and respect.
培养影响力的最佳途径是建立互利的长期关系。只要始终以高标准要求自己公开、诚实、公平和尊重，拥有影响力也是水到渠成的事。

"Playing politics" and wielding influence in a political environment aren't the same. Ironically, the way to cope with dysfunctional "politics" is to engage others, not avoid them. Hunkering down will only make you less influential and so less effective.
“玩政治”与在政治环境中发挥影响力截然不同。但颇具讽刺意味的是，应对不良“政治斗争”的方法是与身边的人加强往来，而不是躲着他们。独善其身只会降低管理者的影响力和效率。

Engage those around you -- not to play political games but to build real bridges -- if you hope to accomplish the work that you believe needs doing.
如果你希望完成你认为有价值的任务，那么就调动身边的人吧！不过，我们不是去玩政治游戏，我们要做的是搭建真正能通往成功的桥梁。

Linda A. Hill, a professor at Harvard Business School, and Kent Lineback, a writer with 30 years of management experience, are co-authors of Being the Boss: The 3 Imperatives for Becoming a Great Leader.
本文作者：Linda A. Hill，哈佛商学院（Harvard Business School）教授；Kent Lineback，作家，拥有30年丰富的管理经验。《做个真正的老板：成为伟大领导者必须具备的三个特质》（Being the Boss: The 3 Imperatives for Becoming a Great Leader）一书由二人合着。